For Those That Have Cruised...

I've been on a few. The thing I learned is to pack clothing that you can mix and match easily and also layer instead of things only for warm or cold weather. Its cold on the ship at night. Everything on the ship is very expensive so try to buy things you will need before you get there. You'll have a great time! =)

power adapters depending on where you are going.
pack as light as possible as there is not much room in your cabin.
i like to travel with a flashlight.
Have fun!

EVERYTHING ON THE SHIP IS TOP DOLLAR. On four cruises I have never seen lanyards. Ever.

Take dramamine, imodeum, pain relievers, and other meds. If the ship employees see you sick, you will be confined to your room if there is any chance you are contagious.

Take paperwork(including passports) or you won't board. I could not believe several families showed up without passports and were surprised they could not get on.

You can get lanyards on ship. Been on 12 cruises and always had them. OTC meds. Cold, seasickness, etc. e pensive on ship other than that pack like you were going to beach resort and dining out every night. Have fun. Love cruising.

Make sure you pack everything you will need for one evening (and another morning in your carry on bag). This is difficult especially when travelling with children but it is the best advice I can give you. I have been on 8 cruises two of which I didn't have my suitcase until after midnight (once) or the next day (most recently). The cruise where I didn't get my suitcase until the next day was a Thanksgiving cruise we took a few weeks ago. Luckily I had evening clothes for my daughter and myself, pajamas, shampoo/toiletries, sunscreen and an outfit for the next day in our carry ons. This is also a good idea in case the airline loses your luggage before a cruise (which happened to my husband on the Thanksgiving cruise). I am not sure why you would need a power adapter, but bring chargers for everything you may want to charge like your phone, kindle, ipad, ipod whatever... My friend also brings sticky notes (one set for each room) so her older kids can leave notes for them on where they are.

Lanyards, buy them here they are so much cheaper. I got mine with a see through wallet attached to it. All your meds. Mix and match clothes and sandles , shoes. I also brought my own beach towels....they were always gone or slightly damp on board. Mine were not. My own beach bag, Tums. I brought a case of water. Expensive on board so bring your own. I really did not bring tons of clothes, they do have a cleaning service on board. I thought it was reasonable. Plug adapters, they did have shampoo and conditioner but I did not like it. I was glad I had my own. I did have a large brim hat for extra shade.

Lanyards were on every cruise we've taken but they were very pricey on board. Disney will give you lanyards when you take your second cruise. Buy them to take now.

We had copies of all of our important documents vacuum sealed in bags and tucked into the lining of a suitcase. things happen.

Have fun!

Waterproof camera
Couple nice outfits for dinner(dresses and skirts)
Tums, dramamine, seasick patch or both, headache meds, sunscreen etc.
Cards, puzzles books, magazines and games
I think you are each allowed a 12 pack of soda or water but you should look that up or call the cruise line or search the cruise website. I know you can bring drinks but there is a limit. A can of soda was $2.75 and the only free drinks were water and lemonade.
Ginger helps with seasickness. Gingerale helps and you can buy ginger tablets in your pharmacy section and start taking them now.

Everything on the ship is expensive so I recommend buying what you can at your home place.

Do not bring any alcohol, they will confiscate it right away.
Remember to buy bottled water when your at port.

Have a wonderful trip

We use lanyards all the time for our keys. It's pretty convenient to be able to hook my keys on my waistband if my hands are full and I need to get my keys out of the way.

You can buy them at Walmart, any home and garden store, or a builders supply place. You can get them as small as a couple of inches up to about 4 inches.

Our cruise had the card keys like a hotel.

Find a dollar store hanging shoe organizer - it was great for putting all the little things because there is VERY little table space anywhere. You can put all your little stuff in it (cosmetics, lotions, etc.) - you can probably find a photo example by googling - cruise shoe organizer tips.

My advice is don't bring too much! Storage on the ship is so limited and I always end up having more with me than I need. I do like having a bag for dirty laundry.

What cruise line are you going on and how old are your kids? That may also affect what you need.

Find out if your room has a clothesline in the shower. If not, you may want to bring some kind of clothesline to hang wet bathing suits and towels.

Bring ziploc freezer bags just in case you need to hold random doodads or snacks. Depending on where you are going, you may not be allowed to take fresh fruit off the ship. We had boxes of cereal, cookies, chips, etc., from the dining room on hand to tide the kids over if they got hungry between mealtimes while we were off the ship.

Bring more than one bathing suit per person if you think you'll be spending a lot of time at the beach/pool. You can wear one while the other dries.

Earplugs and a sleeping mask. You don't know who your neighbors will be, and there are lots of random blinking lights that you wouldn't expect in those cabins.

If you have walkie talkies, they are a great way to keep in touch while people do their own thing on the big boat. Sometimes cell phone coverage is spotty.

Stamps if you think you'll want to send (domestic) postcards.

I have often wished I brought a book light when I have to share a room with other people.

We didn't need a surge protector or lanyards on our cruise.

Have a great time!